Phone Booth

"Phone Booth" is a gimmick disguised as a
thriller. Stuart Shepard (Collin Farrell) is a
high-strung New York celebrity publicist who
fakes his success. He spends his days
pacing the street, hyping himself to potential
clients on his cell phone. The only other calls
he makes are on a pay phone to his girlfriend
Kelly (Katie Holmes). That's because Stuart's
wife always checks his cell phone records.
After Stuart finishes with Kelly, the pay phone
starts to ring. When Stuart answers, the man
on the other line tells him that he has a rifle
trained on him. For the next hour, Stuart (and
the audience) are trapped in this phone booth
while the police, and the media, surround the
booth, assuming that Stuart is incriminated in
a murder.

"Phone Booth" is essentially
B-movie material jacked up to a hysterical
pitch by Joel Schumacher. Schumacher isn't
interested in developing a funny, suspenseful
movie about how our obsessions with phones
can suddenly turn on us. What he does
instead is present a morality tale wherein
Stuart has to own up to his sins. "Phone
Booth" is the kind of movie in which the killer
occupies such a moral high ground that his
intentions seem no different than your
neighborhood priest.

Colin Farrell gave
nicely varied performances in "Hart's War" and
Schumacher's "Tigerland." But in "Phone
Booth," he's as spiritually overwrought as
Treat Williams in "Prince of the City." Most of
the talented cast--Forest Whitaker as a cop,
Katie Holmes as the girlfriend and Radha
Mitchell as Stuart's wife--only get to stand
around watching Stuart fall apart. Schumacher
also provides a clever trick ending.
Unfortunately, by that time, "Phone Booth" has
left a message you've heard too many times
before.
Starring Colin Farrell, Forest
Whitaker, Katie Holmes and Radha Mitchell.
Directed by Joel Schumacher. Written by Larry
Cohen. Produced by Gil Netter and David
Zucker. A 20th Century Fox release. Drama.
Rated R for pervasive language and some
violence. Running time: 80 min